Andy Murray travels to Rome and practices with Novak Djokovic

The three-time Major champion Andy Murray will make another push after overcoming the recent groin injury that forced him to skip the Miami Open. The Briton will travel to Rome, not entering the next week's Foro Italico action but hitting the practice court with Novak Djokovic and Diego Schwartzman. Murray will train with the Serb and the Argentine on Sunday, trying to take his game to a higher level and hoping to receive a wild card in Geneva or Lyon in the week after Rome. Also, Andy has added Mark Petchey to his team for the upcoming weeks, working with Mark in the past while he was a teenager. Andy has been dealing with injuries since 2017, losing the ATP throne and falling through the rankings.

After a couple of wins following the season's restart last August, Murray finished the season on a losing streak, working hard during the off-season and preparing for a fresh start in 2021. Andy tested positive for the coronavirus just before the trip to Australia for another setback, staying away from the court for a couple of weeks and entering the Biella Challenger, Montpellier and Rotterdam. The Briton had to withdraw from Miami due to a groin injury and skip the start of the clay season, planning to return next week and hoping to receive the Roland Garros wild card.

Andy Murray will train with Novak Djokovic in Rome on Sunday.

"When I got back from Miami, I went through a process of scans. They didn't show anything serious, but I was still having pain. I had to do quite a lot of work in the gym to address some imbalances and lack of range of motion. I've been working on that for a few weeks, but the positive thing was that I was able to practice pretty much since I got back. For the last five or six days, there has been a definite improvement. I've played points the last four days, and there hasn't been residual pain when waking up. On Sunday, I've got a court booked with Diego Schwartzman and then Novak Djokovic in the afternoon.

I want to play against the highest level players possible because I think that will help me improve my game quicker. When you practice against the best guys, it shows up better the things you need to improve on. I spoke to Petch a few weeks ago, having chatted to him in December pre-Australian Open. Over the last few years, my team and I have spent a lot of time together, and there have been many difficult moments because of what's happened with the injuries and uncertainty. I felt it would be good to have a fresh voice for some weeks," Andy Murray said.

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/3vOq1Wo